Samsung has started rolling out the Android 12-based One UI 4 to its devices, and its Galaxy S10 series will also receive the update starting next month. But there might be bad news for the Galaxy S10 owners who have been using Samsung’s Gear VR headsets. According to an email sent out to some Gear VR users (via Twitter), the Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e, and the S10 5G phones will lose support for Gear VR after upgrading to Android 12.
Back in August 2019, Facebook (now Meta) and Samsung pulled the plug from Gear VR, and the Galaxy S10 series phones are the only Samsung devices that you can still use the Gear VR. But the support for Gear VR on these phones will also end when users update them to OneUI 4.0 in December 2021 or early 2022. So, if you use a Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e, or S10 5G with a Gear VR, you may have to choose whether to continue using your Gear VR or don’t upgrade your phone to Android 12.
Upgrade to Android 12 If You Want to Receive Security Updates
Samsung has already started rolling out the Android 12-based One UI 4 update to the Galaxy S21 series devices, starting yesterday. The update brings a redesigned UI and tons of new features and improvements. So not upgrading your Galaxy S10 devices to One UI 4 for the sake of Gear OS would be something you would not want. Moreover, without Android 12, you will no longer receive security updates on your devices.
It’s hard to estimate how many active Gear VR users there are at the moment who use the virtual reality headset with a Galaxy S10. There obviously aren’t a lot of people, otherwise, Samsung and Oculus would not stop the support. However, you can still continue to use the Gear VR on your older Samsung phones that do not receive the Android 12 upgrade.
